Five men have been sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for robbing 11.4 kg gold jewellery from a finance company here in 2009 by a Delhi court.

Additional Sessions Judge Pankaj Gupta handed down the jail term to four convicts for the offence of dacoity, while a former employee of the firm was held guilty of dishonestly receiving property stolen in dacoity under the IPC.

Proceedings against a sixth accused, who was declared proclaimed offender, were abated as he died during pendency of trial.

According to the prosecution, on January 29, 2009, firm's ex-employee Santosh Kumar, Rinku Kumar, Mintu Giri, Shankar Dass, Mukesh Kumar and Nagender (who died during pendency of trial) committed dacoity in the office of Mannapuram Finance company located in Shalimar Village in north west Delhi and robbed 11.4 kg of gold jewellery, Rs 2.30 lakh cash and three mobile phones of its employees.

The court, while convicting them, said, "it can be held that the testimony of the prosecution witnesses remained consistent and corroborated each other as to recovery of the case properties and documents related thereto made at the instance of the accused persons.

"There is nothing which could shatter the veracity of the prosecution witnesses or falsify the claim of the prosecution. All the prosecution witnesses have materially supported the prosecution case and their testimonies do not suffer from any infirmity, inconsistency or contradiction and are consistent and corroborative," it said.

The court also noted that the accused had spent the money received by selling the robbed gold in buying properties in their name or of their relatives.

"The accused have failed to prove the source of money to purchase those properties, if that source was not the looted jewellery and the cash. The prosecution has also proved the recovery of the gold jewellery articles made at the instance of Satish and Nagender.

"Therefore, the recovery of the case properties and related documents at the instance of the accused persons stand proved and inspires confidence of this Court," it said.

An FIR was lodged on the complaint of branch head of the company after which four accused were arrested on September 10, 2009. Twenty days later, fifth accused surrendered before a court here disclosing that he had sold his share of 1.5 kg gold to the sixth accused for Rs 11 lakh.

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